The dictionary definition of a partner is “one who shares or takes part with another or others, especially in a business with shared risks and profits.” Another definition is “either of two people playing on the same side and scoring jointly”. Partnership is defined in the English dictionary as “joint heir”.

God had always wanted partnership since He created us in His image. We were made for partnership; first with God and then with one another.

Genesis 1:26-31 “God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multi ply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the ground—to everything in which there is the breath of life—I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.”

From creation we were designed to need God because we came out of Him, just as vegetation came out of the earth. We need Him to live the lives we were meant to live and He also created us to need others.

Genesis 2:18-25 “Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every [wild] beast and living creature of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. And Adam gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the air and to every [wild] beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs or a part of his side and closed up the [place with] flesh. And the rib or part of his side which the Lord God had taken from the man He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. Then Adam said, This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other"s presence.”

So we were created to need and meet the needs of others. This is all done in covenantal relationships. In the covenant of marriage, the man and his wife were designed to function in partnership both with God and with one another. It was the breaking of our partnership with God, through sin, that has led to the breakup of our partnership with each other in God.

In covenants, each party has a role to play and the role includes being a blessing to the other. That was why when God came into covenant with Abraham, He was to be to him all he needed whilst Abraham gave to God all that God asked from Him. “Everything I have is available to you when you need it and everything you have is available to me when I need it”... that was the nature of the covenant partnership God had with Abraham. There are many dimensions to this kind of covenant partnership. This covenant relationship was the basis of the test God put Abraham through in asking him to offer Isaac, his son.

Genesis 22:1-5 says “AFTER THESE events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. [God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. And Abraham said to his servants, Settle down and stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go yonder and worship and come again to you.”

This prefigured the giving of God"s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, as the sacrificial lamb when the human race could not be helped permanently. On the basis of the covenant with Abraham, God offered His only Son to meet the need of the human race! He came to pay the eternal price for the entire race. What power is contained in covenantal relationships!

Jesus Christ had partners during His earthly ministry

Luke 8:1-3 “SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve [apostles] were with Him, And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled; And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod"s household manager; and Susanna; and many others, who ministered to and provided for Him and them out of their property and personal belongings.”

Take note that they received their healing and deliverance through His ministry and they then supported His work through their giving. As in all covenant partnerships, they were involved in giving and receiving. Jesus went about preaching, teaching and healing and many were receiving and hence some were responding as they had means.

The Apostle Paul also had the Philippian church as a major partner in the gospel.

Philippians 1:3-8 says “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. In every prayer of mine I always make my entreaty and petition for you all with joy (delight). [I thank my God] for your fellowship (your sympathetic cooperation and contributions and partnership) in advancing the good news (the Gospel) from the first day [you heard it] until now. And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. It is right and appropriate for me to have this confidence and feel this way about you all, because you have me in your heart and I hold you in my heart as partakers and sharers, one and all with me, of grace (God"s unmerited favour and spiritual blessing). [This is true] both when I am shut up in prison and when I am out in the defence and confirmation of the good news (the Gospel). For God is my witness how I long for and pursue you all with love, in the tender mercy of Christ Jesus [Himself]!”

Apostle Paul calls them partakers and sharers of the grace of God in His life. As they received of his spiritual substance, they were also involved in the giving of their material substance. They also shared with Paul in their prayers for him. He said he would be delivered by their prayers and supply of the Spirit. So they were contributing to him both spiritually and materially.

Philippians 4:14-17 “But it was right and commendable and noble of you to contribute for my needs and to share my difficulties with me. And you Philippians yourselves well know that in the early days of the Gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church (assembly) entered into partnership with me and opened up [a debit and credit] account in giving and receiving except you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent [me contributions] for my needs, not only once but a second time. Not that I seek or am eager for [your] gift, but I do seek and am eager for the fruit which increases to your credit [the harvest of blessing that is accumulating to your account].”

No wonder he prayed the popular prayer many quote today in the following verses.

Philippians 4:18-19 “But I have [your full payment] and more; I have everything I need and am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gift"s you sent me. [They are the] fragrant odour of an offering and sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights. And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” It was a prayer prayed for covenant partners.

Another dimension of partnership is with others in a similar profession, such as when Peter had the experience of catching fish with other men after obeying Jesus" instructions to let down his net. He obeyed the words of Jesus and needed his partners to carry the large portion of fish that became his through obedience.

Luke 5:5-10 “And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [at the point of] breaking, They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus" knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was gripped with bewildering amazement [allied to terror], and all who were with him, at the haul of fish which they had made; And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon (Peter). And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from now on you will be catching men!”

What a way to be called to follow Jesus! The understanding here is that when we obey our Lord to go into all the world to make disciples, we will need partners for the massive harvest not to be lost!

Entering into covenant partnership with the Fountain of Wisdom Ministries

There is an open invitation for all readers to partner with us at the Fountain of Wisdom Ministries International. With offices in several countries around the world, getting involved is now very easy. We are committed to sharing godly wisdom with everyone we have the opportunity to meet as we seek to equip them to fulfil God"s plans and purposes for their lives! God"s Word is loaded with His wisdom and we want to see the Word of God affecting lives all across the world. As we partner together, the blessing of giving and receiving will spread across the globe and lives will be affected and generations to come will not be the same again.

Testimonies abound around the world of changed lives through the impact of God"s Word through this ministry. From Argentina to Australia, from South Africa to the United Kingdom and from Nigeria to India, the Word of God is influencing the nations. We spread the wisdom in the Word of God through books, magazines, CDs and DVDs. We also broadcast on some television networks as well as using social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We hold 'Strategic Equippers" Conferences", an apostolic conference that equips the saints for the work of the ministry. Your involvement enables us to do more for God and you are blessed for being involved. In addition to all the benefits we can see from the above scriptures, the supporters and disciples of Christ were privileged to receive insights into the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Mark 4:10-13 says “And as soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, with the Twelve [apostles], began to ask Him about the parables. And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable, In order that they may [indeed] look and look but not see and perceive, and may hear and hear but not grasp and comprehend, lest haply they should turn again, and it [their wilful rejection of the truth] should be forgiven them. And He said to them, Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for you to discern and understand all the parables?”

Who were those around Him with the disciples?

Luke 8:1-4 “SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve [apostles] were with Him, And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled; And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod"s household manager; and Susanna; and many others, who ministered to and provided for Him and them out of their property and personal belongings. And when a very great throng was gathering together and people from town after town kept coming to Jesus, He said in a parable:”

So we see that the secrets were revealed to two sets of people: those who ministered of their substance and those who gave of their service to Christ. They became recipients of revealed knowledge in understanding the mysteries of God"s kingdom.

Luke 8:9-11 “And when His disciples asked Him the meaning of this parable, He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend. Now the meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God.”

This benefit, amongst others, is available to anyone who decides to come into this covenant relationship of partnership with the Fountain of Wisdom Ministries. Let us celebrate this partnership together!

Stay blessed and strong in the Lord!

*All scriptures are quoted from the Amplified Bible